'Keep Calm & Deal With It' outlines We Are Social's 3As approach to preparing for and handling negative issues in social media, from simple complaints through to full-blown social media #fails. Learn how to define your brand's social media policies and procedures, and start putting an action plan together now so that you're best prepared should a crisis ever hit.

1. KEEP
CALM
AND
DEAL
WITH IT
A GUIDE TO HANDLING NEGATIVE COMMENTS IN SOCIAL MEDIA
SIMON KEMP • WE ARE SOCIAL • SES SINGAPORE • DECEMBER 2013
We Are Social
@eskimon • 1

2. SIMON KEMP
@eskimon
We Are Social
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3. We Are Social
@eskimon • 3

4. LONDON
NEW YORK
PARIS
MUNICH
MILAN
SINGAPORE
SÃO PAULO
We Are Social
SYDNEY
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5. We Are Social
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6. </SALES PITCH>
We Are Social
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7. @$#&!
A COMPREHENSIVE
GUIDE TO HANDLING
NEGATIVE COMMENTS
IN SOCIAL MEDIA
We Are Social
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8. CELEBRATING POSITIVE MENTIONS IS ALSO
IMPORTANT, BUT THAT’S ANOTHER TOPIC
We Are Social
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9. RULE #1: IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE
ON SOCIAL, YOU NEED TO BE SOCIAL
We Are Social
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10. THAT MEANS YOU’RE GOING TO NEED
TO INTERACT WITH YOUR AUDIENCES
We Are Social
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11. HOWEVER, YOU CANNOT PLEASE
ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME
We Are Social
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12. …AND IF IT CAN GO WRONG,
IT PROBABLY WILL GO WRONG
We Are Social
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13. AVOIDING SOCIAL MEDIA DOES NOT MEAN
YOU AVOID NEGATIVE COMMENTS, THOUGH
We Are Social
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14. …AND IGNORING NEGATIVE COMMENTS
CAN HAVE A NEGATIVE BUSINESS IMPACT
We Are Social
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15. 89%
OF US HAVE STOPPED DOING BUSINESS
WITH A BRAND DUE TO POOR SERVICE
We Are Social • Source: Oracle
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16. “
50% OF CONSUMERS EXPECT A
RESPONSE TO A QUESTION WITHIN
ONE WEEK, OR THEY STOP DOING
BUSINESS WITH THEM ALTOGETHER.
We Are Social • Source: Kiss Metrics
@eskimon • 16

17. THIS YEAR, QUESTIONS ASKED ON
BRAND PAGES HAVE INCREASED BY
85%
We Are Social • Source: SocialBakers
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18. BUT CAREFUL MANAGEMENT OF NEGATIVE
COMMENTS CAN ACTUALLY ADD VALUE
We Are Social
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19. IT’S 7 TIMES CHEAPER TO KEEP AN EXISTING
CUSTOMER THAN IT IS TO WIN A NEW ONE
We Are Social • Source: Bain & Company
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20. RESPONDING PAYS DIVIDENDS
71%
OF CONSUMERS WHO DO
RECEIVE A RESPONSE GO ON
TO RECOMMEND THE BRAND
We Are Social • Source: NM Incite
VS
19%
OF CONSUMERS WHO DO NOT
RECEIVE A RESPONSE GO ON
TO RECOMMEND THE BRAND
@eskimon • 20

21. “
WHEN COMPANIES RESPOND TO
CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUESTS
IN SOCIAL MEDIA, THOSE
CUSTOMERS SPEND 20% - 40%
MORE WITH THE COMPANY.
We Are Social • Source: Bain & Company
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22. 40%
OF UNRESOLVED SOCIAL COMPLAINTS
RESULT IN COSTLY CALL CENTRE CALLS
We Are Social • Source: ClickFox
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23. BEST BUY’S ‘TWELPFORCE’ BENEFITS
20%
$5M
DROP IN COMPLAINTS
THROUGH BETTER AND
FASTER SERVICE
IN ADDED VALUE THROUGH
IMPROVED BRAND INFLUENCE
AND COST SAVINGS
We Are Social • Source: Best Buy / Lithium
@eskimon • 23

24. SO HOW CAN YOU MANAGE NEGATIVE
COMMENTS IN SOCIAL MEDIA?
We Are Social
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25. ONE RULE TO RULE THEM ALL…
We Are Social
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26. FAILING TO PREPARE IS
PREPARING TO #FAIL
We Are Social
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27. PLAN AHEAD – DON’T WAIT
UNTIL SOMETHING GOES WRONG
We Are Social • ‘Binoculars’ icon: The World We Live In, from The Noun Project
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28. START TODAY BY DEFINING YOUR
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES (P&P)
We Are Social
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29. IDENTIFY WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR DEALING WITH ISSUES IN ADVANCE
We Are Social • ‘Community’ icon: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 29

30. CREATE A LIST OF EMERGENCY CONTACTS
IN LEGAL, PR AND CORP COMMS TEAMS
We Are Social • ‘Community’ icon: The Noun Project
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31. EDUCATE ALL RELEVANT PEOPLE ON YOUR
P&P, AND REHEARSE A FEW SCENARIOS
We Are Social • ‘Training’ icon: The Noun Project
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32. MAKE SURE EVERYONE CAN FIND THE
P&P EASILY IN THE EVENT OF A CRISIS
We Are Social
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33. ?
BUT WHAT SHOULD YOUR P&P DEFINE?
We Are Social
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34. FIRSTLY, IT SHOULD SET THE HOUSE RULES
FOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITIES
We Are Social
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35. THINGS TO INCLUDE IN COMMUNITY RULES
1
2
DEFINITION OF ‘TROLL’ ACTIVITY AND HOW YOU’LL MANAGE IT
3
HANDLING PROMOTION OF COMPETITORS OR SOLICITATION
4
USE OF PROFANITY OR HATE LANGUAGE (SEXISM, RACISM, ETC.)
5
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY (E.G. FRAUD, LIBEL, HARASSMENT, COPYRIGHT)
6
INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT (E.G. PORNOGRAPHY OR VIOLENCE)
7
SPAM, LINK BAITING, OR PROPAGATION OF VIRUSES OR MALWARE
8
RULES FOR YOUR STAFF, ESPECIALLY AROUND CONFIDENTIALITY
9
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS AROUND RESPONSE TIMES
10
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LEGAL OR MORAL RESTRICTIONS (E.G. AGE LIMITS)
CONTACT DETAILS TO REDIRECT SERIOUS OR PRIVATE ISSUES
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36. SENSE CHECK WHETHER RULES OR THEIR
DEFINITION COULD CREATE OTHER ISSUES
We Are Social
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37. @$#&!
NEXT, DEFINE YOUR APPROACH TO
DEALING WITH NEGATIVE INCIDENTS
We Are Social
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38. WE ARE SOCIAL’S ‘3AS’ APPROACH
ALERT
ASSESS
ACT
IDENTIFY ISSUES AS
EARLY AS POSSIBLE,
IDEALLY BEFORE THEY
ESCALATE
DETERMINE THE
SEVERITY OF EACH ISSUE,
AND INVOLVE RELEVANT
STAKEHOLDERS
MANAGE EACH ISSUE
AS EFFICIENTLY AND
EFFECTIVELY AS
POSSIBLE
We Are Social • ‘Radar’ icon: The Noun Project
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39. ALERT
We Are Social
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40. FIRST, DECIDE HOW YOU’LL MONITOR
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RELEVANT MENTIONS
We Are Social
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41. SELECT THE RIGHT SOCIAL MEDIA
LISTENING TOOL FOR YOUR NEEDS
We Are Social • ‘Radar’ icon: The Noun Project
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42. TOOLS FOR EVERY BUDGET
ENTRY LEVEL
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
READING THROUGH
POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
SITES AND SETTING UP
GOOGLE ALERTS
USING FREE OR
LOW-COST TOOLS TO
AUTO-IDENTIFY SPECIFIC
BRAND MENTIONS
INVESTING IN
PROFESSIONAL TOOLS
TO AUTO-IDENTIFY AND
TRACK MENTIONS
We Are Social
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43. WHAT SHOULD YOU LISTEN FOR?
DIRECT
RELATED
SPECIFIC BRAND
OR PRODUCT
NAME MENTIONS
We Are Social
SECONDARY
OTHER BRANDRELEVANT MENTIONS
(E.G. CEO’S NAME)
MENTIONS OF OTHER
IMPORTANT ELEMENTS
(E.G. COMPETITORS)
@eskimon • 43

44. IDENTIFY WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
LISTENING AND MONITORING ACTIVITIES
We Are Social • ‘Community’ icon: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 44

45. WHERE SHOULD YOU LISTEN?
OWNED
CONVERSATIONS PEOPLE HAVE
WITH YOU IN CHANNELS YOU
OWN OR CONTROL
We Are Social • ‘Head’ icon: The Noun Project
&
ORGANIC
CONVERSATIONS PEOPLE HAVE
ABOUT YOU IN CHANNELS YOU
DO NOT OWN OR CONTROL
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46. WHEN SHOULD YOU LISTEN?
AUTOMATED
AT INTERVALS
SET UP AUTO-ALERTS THAT
TRIGGER AN ACTION WHEN
SOMETHING IMPORTANT
HAPPENS
TASK A PERSON TO CHECK
MENTIONS AT REGULAR
INTERVALS TO IDENTIFY THE
NEED FOR ACTION
We Are Social • ‘Radar’ icon: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 46

47. ASSESS
We Are Social
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48. CAPTURE RELEVANT ACTIVITY AS SOON AS
YOU SEE IT IN CASE SOMETHING CHANGES
We Are Social
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49. !
DETERMINE THE SEVERITY
OF THE INCIDENT
We Are Social
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50. A SIMPLE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
NO INCIDENT (HANDLE AS NORMAL COMMUNITY ACTIVITY)
IGNORE (‘TROLL’ ACTIVITY – DOES NOT MERIT A RESPONSE)
DELETE (ACTIVITY THAT CONTRAVENES GROUND RULES ONLY)
ACKNOWLEDGE (RESOLUTION NOT REQUIRED OR NOT POSSIBLE)
RESOLVE DIRECTLY
ESCALATION REQUIRED
EMERGENCY (CALL THE CEO)
We Are Social
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51. DOES THE ISSUE NEED A RESOLUTION,
OR JUST AN EMPATHETIC RESPONSE?
We Are Social
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52. WATCH OUT FOR WILDFIRES – ISSUES
THAT OTHER PEOPLE FUEL AND SHARE
We Are Social
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53. NEVER FEED THE TROLLS
We Are Social
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54. BEWARE OF LEGAL AND REGULATORY
REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS
We Are Social • ‘Legal’ icon: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 54

55. ASSIGN OR ESCALATE ANY ISSUES
WHERE NECESSARY (AS PER YOUR P&P)
We Are Social
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56. CONSIDER ETHICAL ISSUES (E.G. SHOULD
AN ALCOHOL BRAND REPLY TO MINORS?)
We Are Social
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57. LOG INCIDENTS FOR LATER REFERENCE,
AND TO IDENTIFY TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
We Are Social
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58. ACT
We Are Social
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59. BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, TAKE
A DEEP BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN
We Are Social
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60. HOW YOU HANDLE THE ISSUE IS OFTEN
MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE ISSUE ITSELF
We Are Social
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61. GREAT RESPONSE GUIDELINES
BE TIMELY: RESPOND QUICKLY BUT CAREFULLY
BE ATTENTIVE: THINK AND ACT LIKE A 5-STAR CONCIERGE
BE EMPATHETIC: SHOW PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT HELPING
BE INSIGHTFUL: IDENTIFY THE REAL ISSUE – CAUSE vs. SYMPTOMS
MANAGE EXPECTATIONS: ON TIMING AND POTENTIAL OUTCOMES
WORK WITH DIFFERENT TEAMS TO DELIVER A RESOLUTION
COMMUNICATE IN WAYS THAT HELP OTHER PEOPLE TOO
BE AUTHENTIC: REINFORCE THE BRAND, BUT ACT LIKE A HUMAN
We Are Social
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62. DON’T OVERREACT, AND
NEVER LOSE YOUR TEMPER
We Are Social
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63. USE PERSONALITY AND HUMOUR WHERE
POSSIBLE, BUT BE CAREFUL AND SENSITIVE
We Are Social
@eskimon • 63

64. 89%
OF CUSTOMERS ARE ‘MORE SATISFIED’
WHEN THEY GET A QUICK RESPONSE
We Are Social • Source: Synthetix
@eskimon • 64

65. “QUICK”?
We Are Social
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66. DON’T DELAY YOUR INITIAL RESPONSE
32%
42%
OF CONSUMERS
EXPECT A RESPONSE
WITHIN 30 MINUTES
OF CONSUMERS
EXPECT A RESPONSE
WITHIN ONE HOUR
We Are Social • Source: Social Habit
@eskimon • 66

67. BUT THERE’S A SUBTLE DISTINCTION
RESPONSE
LETTING PEOPLE KNOW
THAT YOU’VE SEEN THEIR
POST AND THAT YOU’RE
FOLLOWING UP
We Are Social
VS
RESOLUTION
ADDRESSING THE
UNDERLYING ISSUES AND
DELIVERING SOME FORM
OF ACTUAL RESOLUTION
@eskimon • 67

68. START WITH A SIMPLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
TO SHOW PEOPLE YOU’RE WORKING ON IT
We Are Social
@eskimon • 68

69. LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEIR FEEDBACK
IS GENUINELY IMPORTANT TO THE BRAND
We Are Social
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70. PEOPLE WHO TAKE THE TIME TO COMPLAIN
LIKELY CARE ABOUT MAKING A DIFFERENCE
We Are Social
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71. IDENTIFY HOW LONG A RESOLUTION WILL
TAKE, AND SET PEOPLE’S EXPECTATIONS
We Are Social
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72. IT’S OFTEN WISE TO CRAFT BEST PRACTICE
RESPONSES TO COMMON ISSUES UPFRONT
We Are Social
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73. ASIDE: IF IT’S A ‘COMMON ISSUE’,
IT’S BETTER TO FIX THE ISSUE’S CAUSE
We Are Social
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74. IF NECESSARY, POST AN APPROPRIATE,
PUBLIC, PERSONALISED HOLDING MESSAGE
We Are Social
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75. …BUT AVOID ‘STOCK’ RESPONSES THAT
LACK EMPATHY AND IRRITATE PEOPLE
We Are Social
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76. TREAT EVERYONE WITH THE CARE AND
ATTENTION OF A 5-STAR HOTEL CONCIERGE
We Are Social • Icon adapted from ‘Community’, The Noun Project
@eskimon • 76

77. WHERE POSSIBLE, TAKE THE RESOLUTION
CONVERSATION SOMEWHERE PRIVATE
We Are Social • ‘Padlock’ icon: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 77

78. THIS IS TO ENSURE YOU DELIVER THE BEST
SERVICE, NOT SO YOU CAN HIDE THINGS
We Are Social
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79. GATHER ALL OF THE FACTS, AND MAKE
GENTLE CORRECTIONS WHERE NECESSARY
We Are Social
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80. HOWEVER, REMEMBER THAT EMOTIONS
AREN’T RATIONAL, SO EMPATHY IS CRITICAL
We Are Social
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81. SORRY
APOLOGISE WHENEVER THE BRAND IS AT
FAULT, BUT BEWARE OF LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
We Are Social
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82. TRACK PROGRESS TOWARDS RESOLUTION
AND KEEP ALL INVOLVED PARTIES UPDATED
We Are Social
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83. IDENTIFY HOW, WHERE AND WHEN YOU’LL
COMMUNICATE THE EVENTUAL RESOLUTION
We Are Social
@eskimon • 83

84. THINK BEFORE YOU ACT!
We Are Social • ‘Head’ and ‘Gears’ icons: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 84

85. COULD THE RESPONSE BE MISINTERPRETED,
OR EVEN MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE?
We Are Social
@eskimon • 85

86. IT’S WISE TO GET A SECOND OPINION
BEFORE REPLYING TO SENSITIVE ISSUES
We Are Social • ‘Head’ and ‘Gears’ icons: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 86

87. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE LEGAL
IMPLICATIONS OF YOUR RESPONSE
We Are Social • ‘Legal’ icon: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 87

88. ENSURE YOUR RESPONSES REINFORCE
YOUR BRAND’S VALUES AND POSITIONING
We Are Social
@eskimon • 88

89. WHEREVER RELEVANT, POST A PUBLIC
FOLLOW-UP TO THE ORIGINAL MENTION TOO
We Are Social
@eskimon • 89

90. KEEP MONITORING FOR FURTHER
FEEDBACK OR AN EVOLUTION TO THE ISSUE
We Are Social • ‘Head’ icon: The Noun Project
@eskimon • 90

91. WORK WITH INTERNAL TEAMS TO ADDRESS
THE CAUSE(S) OF THE UNDERLYING ISSUE(S)
We Are Social
@eskimon • 91

92. GETTING
STARTED
TODAY
We Are Social
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93. 3AS: SET-UP CHECKLIST
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We Are Social
1.
DEFINE YOUR COMMUNITY ‘HOUSE RULES’
2.
SELECT THE RIGHT LISTENING TOOL(S) FOR YOUR NEEDS
3.
IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING
4.
IDENTIFY AND ENGAGE YOUR EMERGENCY CONTACTS
5.
AGREE WHAT YOU SHOULD MONITOR FOR
6.
DETERMINE WHICH CHANNELS TO MONITOR
7.
SPECIFY YOUR MONITORING SCHEDULE (AUTOMATED OR HUMAN)
8.
UNDERSTAND LEGAL, REGULATORY AND ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS
9.
CREATE YOUR INCIDENT SEVERITY FRAMEWORK / CLASSIFICATION
10. DEFINE YOUR INCIDENT LOGGING PROCESS AND PROTOCOLS
11.
SET BENCHMARK RESPONSE TIMES
12. RECOMMEND RESPONSE APPROACH BY SOCIAL PLATFORM
13. DEFINE BRAND VOICE AND TONALITY FOR RESPONSES
14. IDENTIFY COMMON ISSUES AND DEFINE BEST PRACTICE RESPONSES
15. IDENTIFY THE RELEVANT PRIVATE FORUM FOR HANDLING ISSUES
16. DEVISE FEEDBACK LOOP TO HELP REMEDY UNDERLYING CAUSES
@eskimon • 93

94. WE ARE SOCIAL IS A GLOBAL CONVERSATION AGENCY.
WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN TO, UNDERSTAND,
AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S
TOP BRANDS, INCLUDING ADIDAS, UNILEVER,
DIAGEO, NESTLÉ, HEINZ, AND LVMH.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT US HELPING YOU
TOO, CALL US ON +65 6423 1051, OR EMAIL
US AT SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG.
FIND OUT MORE AT WEARESOCIAL.SG
We Are Social
@eskimon • 94

95. SIMON KEMP, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WE ARE SOCIAL
@ESKIMON
SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG
+65 6423 1051
HTTP://WEARESOCIAL.SG
We Are Social
@eskimon • 95